The present invention relates to a method and system for providing external notification of a program error to a software or hardware vendor and/or resolving such errors.
Regardless of the amount of testing which is performed prior to release of a particular version of software, any number of unforeseen errors may arise during normal use of a software program by consumers and/or end-users. In addition, hardware and/or communication errors or breakdowns may also arise. Currently, when confronted with an error of significant proportion, the consumer or end-users must communicate to a technical specialist of the vendor exactly the function being performed when the error arose, the error message displayed by the personal computer (PC) or workstation following development of the error, and any other pertinent information required by a particular vendor (i.e., license number etc.). This communication is typically performed via phone and, quite often, the ability of the technical specialist to diagnose and resolve the error is hampered by inadequate communication of the consumer or end-user. In addition, either the consumer or the vendor may be responsible for significant long-distance telephone expenses.
The present invention is directed to overcoming these deficiencies in the art.
A method in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention includes: detecting an error during an execution of a program command in a first set of commands in a first system; identifying a second system to notify when the error is detected; generating a notification signal based on the detected error; and transmitting the notification signal to the second system.
A method in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention includes: detecting an error during an execution of a program command in a first set of commands in a first system; identifying a second system to notify when the error is detected; generating a notification signal based on the detected error; transmitting the notification signal to the second system; receiving at least one corrected command from the second system in response to the notification signal; and implementing the at least one corrected command into the first set in the first system.
A method in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention includes: receiving a notification signal from a first system on a second system, the notification signal identifying an error during execution of a program command in a first set of commands on the first system; preparing at least one corrected command on the second system; and transmitting a response signal containing the at least one corrected command from the second system to the first system in response to the notification signal.
A system in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention includes: a detector configured to detect an error during execution of a program command in a first set of commands; a memory having stored therein an address of a second system to be notified following detection of the error; a generator configured to generate a notification signal based on the detected error; and a transmitter configured to transmit the notification signal to the second system.
A computer readable medium in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention has stored thereon instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the steps of: detecting an error during execution of a program command in a first set of commands in a first system; identifying a second system to notify when the error is detected; generating a notification signal based on the detected error; and transmitting the generated signal to a second system.
With the present invention, the need for consumer or end-user involvement in detecting and diagnosing software errors as well as hardware and/or communication errors or breakdowns is eliminated or, alternatively, kept to a minimum. This is beneficial to both software and hardware vendors, who can receive accurate, objective information in a predictable format, and the end-user or consumer, who is free to continue operating the program to the extent possible. By providing a software program executable on a system for performing a method of the present invention, programming and/or hardware errors can be relayed to and/or repaired by outside sources without the need for consumer or end-user intervention. This provides for much faster and more accurate detection and reporting of error conditions, and eliminates multiple occurrences of an error.